Chapter 4: Classes and pupils

12.2% of P1-P3 pupils were taught in classes of 18 or fewer compared to 12.7% in 2016

23.5 Average class size for pupils in primary school – this remains the same as 2016

Table 4.1 shows the average class size for pupils in P1-P3 and overall primary school. In 2017 the average for primary was unchanged from 2016 and remained at 23.5. The average class size for P1-P3 was 23.2 which is a slight decrease from 23.3 in 2016. Class size data are not collected in the secondary sector as class size varies widely across subjects.

Table 4.1: Average class size of primary school pupils(1)

Stage

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

P1

20.5

20.6

21.2

21.2

21.1

21.2

21.0

P2

23.3

23.3

24.0

23.9

24.1

24.0

23.9

P3

23.9

24.0

24.5

24.7

24.8

24.7

24.7

P1-P3

22.5

22.6

23.2

23.3

23.3

23.3

23.2

Primary

22.7

22.7

23.2

23.3

23.4

23.5

23.5

(1) Data refer to the average class size of pupils in each stage, not the average class size of single stage classes. The total average class size is calculated on a different basis than the P1 to P3 class sizes, see background notes for details.

Table 4.2 shows the number of P1-P3 pupils in publicly funded schools in various class sizes. It is a Scottish Government aspiration to reduce P1-P3 class sizes to 18 or fewer. In 2017, 20,997 (12.2 per cent) of P1-P3 pupils were taught in classes of 18 or fewer. This is down from 21,906 (12.7 per cent) in 2016. The number of pupils taught in classes of 26 or more decreased from 46,293 in 2016 to 44,965 in 2017. This represents 26.1 per cent of pupils, a smaller proportion than the 26.8 per cent recorded in 2016.

Table 4.2: P1-P3 pupils by class size(1)

Headcount

Class size

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

1 - 18

32,580

31,101

22,992

22,138

20,999

21,906

20,997

19 - 25

91,620

95,898

102,849

103,968

104,426

104,517

106,023

26 - 30

36,679

37,805

42,908

45,539

46,489

45,486

44,340

31 or more

757

473

736

470

658

807

625

% in classes of 18 or fewer or in 2 teacher classes of 36 or fewer

20.2

18.8

13.6

12.9

12.2

12.7

12.2

(1) The percentage of P1-P3 pupils in classes of 18 or fewer includes two-teacher classes with 36 or fewer. Classes taught by two teachers at all times are treated as two classes of half the size.

Legislation was introduced in November 2010 to limit class sizes for P1 pupils to 25. Table 4.3 shows the number of P1 pupils by class size. Some P1 pupils may be in classes of over 25 due to the inclusion of one or more 'excepted pupil' (see background note). In 2017 the number of pupils in classes of 26 or more was 631; this is lower than in 2016 (698).

Table 4.3: P1 pupils by class size

Headcount

Class size

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

1 - 18

16,208

15,713

11,968

11,558

11,213

11,737

11,925

19 - 25

38,376

40,468

44,864

45,544

45,307

45,102

44,195

26 or more

609

503

560

451

637

698

631

Table 4.4 shows that the percentage of P1-P3 pupils in classes of 18 or fewer varies considerably between local authorities and years. One of the main reasons for this is the differing proportions of schools with a small number of pupils between local authorities.

Table 4.4: P1-P3 pupils in classes of size 18 or fewer or in two teacher classes with a pupil teacher ratio of 18 or fewer

Percentage Headcount

Local Authority

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Aberdeen City

16.6

16.4

16.1

11.2

10.6

11.0

13.0

Aberdeenshire

11.1

13.1

14.9

13.3

12.4

14.7

17.7

Angus

25.5

20.4

21.0

23.1

22.4

19.6

16.5

Argyll & Bute

44.6

45.5

45.4

34.9

24.2

27.2

27.1

Clackmannanshire

22.0

19.0

16.1

17.8

11.8

19.7

14.1

Dumfries & Galloway

20.6

20.4

12.0

16.4

13.6

17.1

22.0

Dundee City

27.0

28.5

9.4

2.8

3.4

2.6

4.4

East Ayrshire

43.4

19.5

7.6

13.0

9.5

11.1

9.9

East Dunbartonshire

22.2

21.2

21.8

11.3

10.6

12.9

10.3

East Lothian

7.5

4.0

4.3

6.3

6.0

4.2

6.5

East Renfrewshire

38.1

35.6

7.6

15.7

9.5

16.5

12.6

Edinburgh, City of

15.3

15.3

7.0

7.2

6.1

5.7

6.0

Na h-Eileanan Siar

62.8

51.7

39.8

48.0

51.3

57.8

52.3

Falkirk

7.7

8.5

4.9

6.3

8.5

5.6

7.9

Fife

26.7

27.4

24.1

22.9

20.8

20.8

11.6

Glasgow City

6.2

10.1

3.8

3.7

3.6

4.2

5.5

Highland

23.2

20.3

18.4

18.1

20.5

19.1

18.1

Inverclyde

16.8

12.3

9.3

10.0

7.5

6.5

5.0

Midlothian

15.3

5.0

7.7

11.7

10.3

16.7

11.2

Moray

19.7

20.6

8.9

14.1

10.8

8.0

8.1

North Ayrshire

7.7

11.6

7.2

7.6

10.8

13.0

9.9

North Lanarkshire

10.0

8.0

8.1

7.7

8.6

9.8

11.4

Orkney Islands

44.8

33.4

27.2

29.6

22.6

19.8

24.7

Perth & Kinross

26.6

20.7

15.7

15.1

14.3

14.7

11.0

Renfrewshire

34.6

36.5

6.9

10.8

11.9

13.3

14.4

Scottish Borders

23.1

22.6

21.6

12.7

14.3

10.3

14.4

Shetland Islands

31.6

24.5

26.5

31.2

25.5

33.9

32.2

South Ayrshire

28.4

23.4

20.2

17.8

24.6

19.5

20.1

South Lanarkshire

25.3

23.9

22.9

17.7

16.1

15.5

16.8

Stirling

26.7

24.9

17.4

15.2

17.4

14.9

11.3

West Dunbartonshire

22.6

15.9

9.9

13.3

13.6

16.2

14.0

West Lothian

26.0

24.4

20.3

17.0

13.6

16.3

14.7

Scotland(1)

20.2

18.8

13.6

12.9

12.2

12.7

12.2

(1) The statistics for Scotland include one grant-aided mainstream school.

Table 4.5 shows the pupil characteristics primarily used in equalities monitoring. In 2017, 85.4 per cent of pupils were recorded as being White-Scottish or White-other British. The largest other ethnic backgrounds include White-Other (5.2 per cent), Asian Pakistani (1.9 per cent) and mixed (1.3 per cent).

183,491 pupils (26.6 per cent of all pupils) had an additional support need (ASN) recorded. This includes pupils in special schools and those in mainstream schools with a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP), Individualised Education Programme (IEP), Child Plan or some other type of support.

Table 4.5: Pupil characteristics(1)

Headcount

Female

Male

Total

Total Pupils

338,004

350,955

688,959

Ethnicity

White – Scottish

270,603

280,634

551,237

White – Other British

18,133

18,936

37,069

White – Gypsy/Traveller

551

570

1,121

White - Other

17,367

18,133

35,500

Mixed

4,487

4,413

8,900

Asian – Indian

2,796

2,980

5,776

Asian – Pakistani

6,559

6,771

13,330

Asian – Bangladeshi

511

511

1,022

Asian – Chinese

2,022

1,974

3,996

Asian – Other

1,863

1,925

3,788

Caribbean/Black

534

578

1,112

African

3,570

3,666

7,236

Other

2,877

3,223

6,100

Not known / not disclosed

6,091

6,546

12,637

English as an Additional Language

19,789

21,735

41,524

Additional Support Needs (ASN)

CSP (Co-ordinated Support Plan)

788

1,394

2,182

IEP (Individualised Education Programme)

11,056

24,108

35,164

Child Plans

11,433

20,576

32,009

Assessed/Declared Disabled

5,257

11,485

16,742

Other(2)

60,030

83,726

143,756

All pupils with ASN(3)

73,641

109,850

183,491

All pupils with ASN (excluding Other type)(3)

22,328

42,946

65,274

(1) Statistics for ethnicity and English as an Additional Language do not include grant-aided special schools as this information is not collected. There were 135 pupils at grant-aided special schools in 2017.

(2) See the background note for further information on what this category includes

(3) Pupils may have more than one type of ASN, therefore the totals for ASN may not equal the sum of individual types of ASN.